Can two businesses have the same name?
Yes, in some situations. The SBA says an entity name registration normally stops anyone else in the same state from using that entity name. Exceptions depend on the state and the structure. A DBA and a trademark follow different rules.
What the SBA says about entity names
An entity name is the legal name of an LLC or corporation, and the state keeps the register of them. The SBA says most states do not allow you to register a name that someone else has already registered. In most cases, it adds, your entity name registration prevents anyone else in the state from operating under the same entity name.
The SBA also names exceptions that depend on the state and the business structure. For an LLC or corporation, then, two cannot normally hold the same name in one state. The exact test comes from each state's statute.
The SBA draws one more line. Entity name protection works at the state level, and trademark protection works at the federal level. A state register says nothing about names in other states or about federal trademarks.
The word "distinguishable" in state law
Each statute in the table uses a version of the same test. The name has to be distinguishable from names already on the state's records. The test only looks at the records, so a business using the name without a filing does not appear in it.
| State and law | What the name must do | Compared against |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware, 6 Del. C. section 18-102 | Distinguish the LLC name upon the records of the Secretary of State | Names of corporations, partnerships and limited partnerships on those records |
| Delaware, 8 Del. C. section 102 | Distinguish a corporation name upon the records of the Division of Corporations | Reserved names on those records, unless the holder gives written consent |
| Minnesota Statutes section 302A.115 | Be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State | Each domestic corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership and LLC |
| New York Business Corporation Law section 301 | Distinguish the name from names on the state's index | Corporations of any type or kind |
| Code of Virginia section 13.1-1012 | Be distinguishable upon the records of the Commission | The name of a domestic limited liability company, among others |
Delaware's corporation rule adds an exception: written consent from the holder of the other name. Texas uses the same "distinguishable in the records of the secretary of state" wording for entity names, as its Name Filings FAQs explain. The business name search reads a state's published list so you can see what is already on it before you file.
Assumed names and DBAs
A DBA is a different filing from an entity name. The SBA says several businesses can go by the same DBA in one state. That leaves you with more freedom to choose, and also with less protection once you have chosen.
Texas shows how this works in practice. The Texas Secretary of State cites Chapter 71 of the Texas Business & Commerce Code. It does not authorize rejecting an assumed name certificate because of a name conflict. As a result, several certificates may sit on file for the exact same name.
The same office adds that a certificate gives no right to use the name in a way that infringes on others. It also does not prevent anyone else from filing the same assumed name. The guide to fictitious business names covers where these filings are made.
Trademarks and related goods or services
A federal trademark answers the question differently, because the USPTO asks whether customers would be confused. It refuses a mark that is likely to cause confusion with an earlier registered or applied-for mark.
The USPTO says marks do not have to be identical to be confusingly similar. They can look alike, sound alike or carry a similar meaning, and the goods or services only have to be related.
That last point works in both directions. The USPTO says a trademark owner cannot stop others from using a similar logo on goods or services unrelated to the mark holder's own. So the same name can sit with two owners in unrelated fields, while a close variation in a related field can be refused.
A state filing does not clear the name
Texas says clearing a name, or issuing a certificate of formation under it, does not authorize a name that violates another person's rights. A state accepting your filing speaks only for its own records.
Texas trademark examiners add a limit of their own. They check only state marks and USPTO marks. The office does not search state or county assumed name records or the legal names of corporations or other filing entities.
If your goal is to keep other people off your name, the guide to protecting a business name sets out the layers. The Texas and Delaware pages show each state's own name rules and fees.
Can two businesses have the same name: more questions
Does a Texas assumed name certificate stop another business from filing the same name?
No. The Texas Secretary of State says an assumed name certificate does not prevent anyone else from filing the same assumed name. Each business has to protect its own name.
Does the same name on a trademark work for unrelated products?
The USPTO ties a trademark to specific goods or services. Owning a mark for woodworking tools does not let you stop a similar logo on goods unrelated to woodworking.
Next: how a fictitious business name works, protecting a business name and name endings and rules by state.
10 official sources
- SBA, guide to choosing a business name, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Delaware Code Title 6, Chapter 18, Limited Liability Company Act, section 18-102, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Delaware Code Title 8, Chapter 1, General Corporation Law, section 102, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Minnesota Statutes section 302A.115, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- New York Business Corporation Law section 301, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Code of Virginia section 13.1-1012, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Texas Secretary of State, Name Filings FAQs, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Texas Secretary of State, Trademarks FAQs, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- USPTO, Common problems in applications, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- USPTO, What is a trademark?, retrieved November 12, 2026.